Deputy Dean: Dr Tamsin Dunn
Associate Dean: Dr Joanne Rowell
PSW Fellow: Dr Abhijit Dubey
Programme Support Manager: Angela McMahon
PSW Admin: Janene Chesters
PSW Admin: Mei Lee
PSW Admin: Julian Shepherd
The Professional Support and Wellbeing Team can be contacted via: england.psw.nw@nhs.net
The PSW email banner is available to download here.
NHS England North West provides the Professional Support and Wellbeing Service (PSW) and while referrals to the PSW made by senior educators, the PSW is completely separate from the Training Programmes and ARCP process. The PSW service and support is confidential.
The aim of the PSW is to provide exceptional support services for trainees (Postgraduate Doctors, Dental Trainees and Public Health Clinicians) in the North West who experience difficulty with their training, providing the assistance they need to thrive and achieve their potential, while ensuring their health and wellbeing.
Our team are passionate about supporting trainees and are experienced in providing a professional, empathic, holistic and collaborative approach, making a positive impact to enable doctors to achieve their goals.
The PSW service is pastoral, and we are supported by the Lead Employer, Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; who have a range of information and resources on their website.
Please be aware we do not manage health conditions; for this, we recommend speaking to your General Practitioner, or you can self-refer to Practitioner Health or Health Work and Wellbeing.
The PSW provides support to Postgraduate Doctors, Dental Trainees and Public Health Clinicians. Referrals to the service are to be made by senior educators including Educational Supervisors, Training Programme Directors and Heads of School, we do not accept self referrals.
The referral criteria, referral form and information on the service can be accessed below:
A copy of the referral form will be shared with the trainee being referred, you should only include information that has been discussed and that the trainee has consented to sharing.
Please note, there are separate referral pathways for the Professional Support and Wellbeing Service and for Deans Case Management, a trainee may be referred to either or both of these services.
We are in phase two of the Professional Support and Wellbeing Service and currently offer:
The PSW work alongside our Senior Careers Advisor, Mr Shah Rahman who can draw on different resources to help support trainees.
Case Managers are senior consultants and GPs with experience of leadership roles within medical training. They are used to working within complex training pathways and situations. They have a good understanding of medical training through their personal experience.
Trainees with complex referrals will be referred to a Case Manager. Due to demand for Case Managers, there may be occasions when a trainee may have to wait to be allocated.
Once it has been identified a trainee requires a Case Manager, the PSW team will send the Case Manager Mentoring Agreement which must be signed by the trainee and Case Manager prior to the first meeting.
The Case Manager will contact the trainee and arrange the initial meeting, which will be held via MS Teams, the initial meeting is usually 60-90 minutes long. The trainee and Case Manager will agree what support will be required from the PSW and an action plan will be created.
Trainees that have been referred to a Case Manager to assess whether they meet the criteria for a referral to Genius Within will be sent the Case Manager Neurodiversity Assessment Pre-Screening form; which must be signed by the trainee and Case Manager prior to the first meeting.
The Exam Support TPDs will meet with trainees after two failures of any part of the college exams, and will work through possible reasons why, refer for assessments as required and provide additional support for future exam attempts.
If required, the PSW can provide further exam support via our exam coach, Mr Shah Rahman. To enable optimal exam support to be provided, referrals should be made at least four months before the planned exam sitting. A minimum of three months is normally required for effective intervention, while earlier referral (up to eight months in advance) is associated with the best outcomes.
A trainee must meet the PSW guidelines for neurodiversity screening and assessment before a referral to Genius Within is considered.
Genius Within provide screening to establish whether neurodiverse traits are a factor for trainees who are experiencing difficulties during their training; please be aware Genius Within do not provide a clinical diagnosis.
Should a trainee believe they are neurodiverse, we would encourage them to apply to Access to Work as soon as possible. For further information on Access to Work go to: https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work. This service will provide funding for specialist equipment and coaching as required.
Trainees that meet the PSW guidelines, may be referred to Genius Within for one or more of the services below.
Genius Finder Pro Screening Tool
Where it is unclear from the referral to the PSW whether neurodiverse traits are a factor, the trainee may be asked to complete the Genius Finder Pro screening tool.
This screening tool will generate a report highlighting areas in which the trainee excels and the areas in which further support may be required. The report contains suggested adjustments for the trainee to review and work with to enable them to perform at their best within the workplace. Once this report is shared with the PSW team, a decision can be made regarding what further support if any is required.
Screening Call
There may be occasions when the results of the Genius Finder Pro are inconclusive, and the trainee may be referred for a Screening Call. Following the Screening Call a report will be issued summarising the discussion. Depending on recommendations within the report either further specialist support or assessment will be offered from Genius Within, or support can be accessed from local educators or a Case Manager as appropriate.
Cognitive Assessment
A Cognitive Assessment assesses for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Dyscalculia. The assessment can also highlight if the doctor has a high probability for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Following a Cognitive Assessment, a report outlining if any neurodiverse conditions are present and any suggested adjustments to support the trainee at work will be issued. The report will include recommendations for exam adjustments as appropriate.
Depending on the results of the Cognitive Assessment, further support may be given by the exam support team or a referral to Genius Within for further support may be made if appropriate.
A Cognitive Assessment may be recommended depending on the results of the Genius Finder Pro screening tool. The Genius Finder Pro screening tool is offered when trainees are struggling to pass their postgraduate exams.
Prior to the assessment being ordered the trainee will be asked to consent to the Cognitive Assessment report being shared with the PSW team. This is to ensure that any required support and reasonable adjustments can be given. Unfortunately, without the report the ability of the PSW team to support the trainee further is severely limited.
Holistic Assessment
The Holistic Assessment is a complex and detailed assessment of a trainees educational and developmental history. It starts with a developmental case history, which screens for evidence of Dyslexia, Dyspraxia (Developmental Coordination Disorder) Dysgraphia and / or Dyscalculia, as well as ADHD and Autism. Genius Within will then test to confirm which neurotype(s) are the best fit for the trainee’s profile. For ADHD and Autism, there may be more than one testing session required.
Depending on the results of the Holistic Assessment, specialist neurodiversity coaching with Genius Within may be offered, alternatively further support may be provided by the Case Manager.
A Holistic Assessment may be recommended following review by a Case Manager. The Case Manager will decide whether the difficulties faced by a trainee within the workplace meet the criteria for a PSW funded assessment.
Prior to the assessment being ordered the trainee will be asked to consent to the Holistic Assessment report being shared with the PSW team. This is to ensure that any required support and reasonable adjustments can be given. Unfortunately, without the report the ability of the PSW team to support the trainee further is severely limited.
Specialist Coaching
A trainee who has undertaken a Cognitive or Holistic Assessment that has identified neurodiverse traits may be referred to Genius Within for 8-hours of Specialist Coaching, this is usually undertaken as four 2-hour sessions.
The coaching will help the trainee to work at their best, finding practical solutions to challenges, whilst recognising and playing to their strengths. The coaching is also about working with stress levels, knowing how to change habits to be in the best state possible and identifying longer term goals to help find motivation.
Westwood
The PSW also provides coaching with Westwood Associates, further details are available in the Coaching Support Information.
Postgraduate Dean: Professor Roisin Haslett
Deputy Dean: Dr Tamsin Dunn (ACCS, EM, Medicine, O&G, Ophthalmology, Pathology and Radiology)
Deputy Dean: Dr Alison Caldwell (General Practice)
Deputy Dean: Dr Raghu Paranthaman (Anaesthetics, ICM, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Public Health)
Associate Dean: Dr Joanne Rowell (Foundation and Surgery)
Programme Support Manager: Angela McMahon
DCM Admin: Janene Chesters
DCM Admin: Julian Shepherd
Deans Case Management can be contacted via: england.nwcasemanagement@nhs.net
The purpose of Deans Case Management is to uphold professional and educational standards and to support Postgraduate Doctors, Dental Trainees, Pharmacists and Public Health Clinicians and their trainers. A referral to Deans Case Management should be viewed as a supportive process to ensure the appropriate measures are put in place to maximise training potential.
A trainee who may benefit from being referred to Deans Case Management could be defined as:
“Any trainee who has caused concern to their Educational Supervisor about the ability to carry out their duties, that has required unusual measures to be put into place. This would mean anything outside the normal trainer - trainee processes where the Training Programme Director has been called upon to take or recommend action.”
The Deans Case Management Referral Guide outlines the pathway for escalation and referral.
Please note, there are separate referral pathways for Deans Case Management and the Professional Support and Wellbeing Service, a doctor may be referred to either or both of these services.
All of us are likely to experience periods of difficulty at some point in our own careers. One starting point when faced with a trainee requiring support is to consider the type of support and guidance you might want if you were in the same situation.
This document provides guidance on early management and support of trainees about whom there may be concern. It has been produced for use by Heads of School and Training Programme Directors, although we hope that it will be a useful reference for all educators supervising our trainees.
The Directory of Services contains information and resources which you may find useful as an educator or trainee.